Four, including two minors, killed in cracker blast in Tamil Nadu's Salem district

Salem: Four persons, including two boys, were killed in an accidental firecracker blast near a temple at Kanjanaickenpatti village in the district on Friday night, police said. Expressing his heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the bereaved families, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday announced a solatium of Rs 3 lakh each to the affected families.

A bundle of firecrackers being carried in a gunny bag on a two-wheeler, to be burst during the festival at the Draupadi Amman temple, caught fire and exploded at around 8.50 PM on Friday near the Poosaripatti bus stand, Kanjanaickenpatti village, police said.

"The incident happened when a man attempted to test the firecrackers," a police official said, and added that the mishap occurred about one km away from the temple where a large number of people had gathered for the festival.

The deceased have been identified as Selvaraj (29) from Kottamedu, Kanjanaickenpatti, and two boys from Guruvalliyur aged 11, while Lokesh (20) died at the Salem Government Medical College Hospital.

"I was deeply shocked and pained to hear the tragic news. I express my deepest condolences and sympathies to the families who lost their kin," the chief minister said in a statement announcing a relief of Rs 3 lakh each to the families of the deceased from the Chief Minister's Public Relief Fund.

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said: "The news that four people have tragically lost their lives in a firecracker accident during a temple festival in Kanjanaickenpatti village is very shocking and painful. I express my deepest condolences and sympathies to the families of the deceased."

Such accidents have become a recurring story under the present DMK regime because proper protocols were not followed during temple festivals and proper security was not provided, he alleged in a post on the social media platform 'X'.

Palaniswami urged the state government to enhance the relief sum and also take appropriate measures to ensure safety protocols were in place so that such accidents do not happen again.